


How To: ChanSoo

by fallacyofwhat



Series: chaptered stories [4]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Best Friends, Drunk Texting, Gen, M/M, Slice of Life, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallacyofwhat/pseuds/fallacyofwhat
Summary: Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are best friends, studying in different cities and their mainline of communication are their trustworthy smartphones and messaging apps. A share of daily life, uni and friends and one or two drunk adventures.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol
Series: chaptered stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747564
Comments: 30
Kudos: 26





	1. How To Drunk Text Message

**Author's Note:**

> hey, hey. I finally started it. this is vastly different in terms of writing style from what i usually upload. reason: this is my first ever written fanfic that was too ambitious for a first timer like me. back then i had wonderful help from a wonderful friend and wonderful beta who encouraged me a lot. i love you, thank you.
> 
> this story was also some gateway into finding great friends on a platform that gave me a lot in the beginning, but it changed. so i hope you enjoy this story with minor, minor changes and no images but descriptions instead.
> 
> i also rushed the formatting, sorry about mistakes here and there.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a tutorial by PCY -

Kyungsoo felt utterly exhausted. After discarding his bag, he stepped out onto the dorm’s conjoined balcony, while lighting a cigarette. His wristwatch reminded him that it was already 2:43 in the morning. His day has been a disaster in the ateliers and he just came back minutes ago.

“Dear God", he muttered into the night sky sprinkled with an uncountable number of stars, “Just let me enjoy my cigarette and don’t let that dumbass call me.”

He knew his best friend was out drinking with his fellow students, but luck clearly wasn’t on his side this night. As if on cue, his phone started buzzing in his back pocket, indicating an incoming call. With furrowed brows, he ignored it.

Angrily, he puffed a cloud of blueish-white smoke out into the sky. The veil shrouded the stars behind an almost invisible cloud before dissolving into thin air. Some incoherent mumbling was heard, and the buzzing stopped. Kyungsoo was still standing on the balcony, arms propped up at the railing, with closed eyes and head tilted towards the sky. He inhaled deeply and exhaled the smoke just as slowly to let it sway away with the mild wind again, opening his eyes in the process, trailing the smoke. The wind managed to let his exhaustion subside a little.

After unceremoniously flicking the leftover stub over the railing, he turned around and kicked his shoes into the direction of his bedroom. He knew he was alone for the weekend, so he decided it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little longer in the living room. He switched one of the smaller lamps in the open kitchen on and retrieved two beers from the fridge. Back in the living room, he let his butt crush down onto the fluffy carpet and lay down, very ungracefully someone might say. A long sigh was heard before he propped himself back up on one arm. Glancing around, he saw that the sound system was still on, he decided to turn on the Bluetooth. The bespectacled boy already knew that sleep wouldn’t come to him that easily, so there was no harm in staying awake and listening to some music, right?

Kyungsoo squinted his eyes at the brightly lit display after unlocking it. Rubbing his eyes, he settled his glasses back on his nose. He decided to ignore the still incoming messages for the time being and scrolled through his playlist until he settled on something. The room was instantly lulled into the quietly sounding music, presumably Ryuichi Sakamoto, recently he found a lot of inspiration in it.

Scrunching his nose, he opened the messages, but not before opening the beer bottle. He already knew it was going to be a long night.

**Dumbass**

_\typing\_

_14 unread message_

> -1 missed call(s) 02:47-
> 
> Do
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> Do
> 
> |   
>   
> Do
> 
> |   
>   
> Do
> 
> |   
>   
> Do
> 
> |   
>   
> DO???!
> 
> |   
>   
> Dyo?
> 
> |   
>   
> DYO-AH!
> 
> |   
>   
> Do Kyungsoo!?
> 
> |   
>   
> Kyungsoo!
> 
> |   
>   
> Soo?
> 
> |   
>   
> Sooooooooooooo?
> 
> |   
>   
> I kwn yu hom
> 
> |   
  
The selca Chanyeol sent him, showed him covering his face with a peace sing, fake glasses on his nose and wearing a black hat and a jeans jacket. He clearly wasn’t in the comfort of his own room or home.

> | 
> 
> What?! Stop typing! I swear to god, Park Chanyeol!  
>   
> ---|---  
  
Kyungsoo answered with a image of his own, looking anything but unimpressed and judging.

> ohhhhh, gud, yu hom
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> How drunk are you? You know I cannot and won’t pick you up.  
>   
> I miss yu  
>  ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰²˙⁵⁸
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ⁰²˙⁵⁹  
>   
> SOOOOOO
> 
> |   
>   
> STOP
> 
> |   
>   
> whoops capslock
> 
> |   
>   
> stopp ignorg me
> 
> |   
>   
> ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙⁰⁸
> 
> |   
  
Kyungsoo tried to set his phone with his sheer willpower and glare on fire, but to his dismay, neither the phone nor Chanyeol ignited. He took a big gulp of his beer and started typing again.

> | 
> 
> Whiny little bitch.
> 
> Ugh, What do you want and you still didn’t answer my question, Channie.
> 
> How drunk are you? Did you drink some water? Did you have some fresh air?  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> i dunno, yes, yas
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Good god.  
>   
> Soo?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Yes, Chanyeol? How may I help you?  
>   
> i miss chu~
> 
> |   
>   
> it has bin
> 
> |   
>   
> *bin
> 
> |   
>   
> *ben
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Type slowly…  
>   
> *been
> 
> |   
>   
> benn a long tim
> 
> |   
>   
> i mis you~
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Didn't we saw each other last weekend?  
>   
> exactly, last weekend
> 
> |   
>   
> lung timr
> 
> |   
>   
> ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙²¹
> 
> |   
  
Frustrated, he fell back on the carpet, sighing and staring at the ceiling. He held his phone at eye level and waited for Chanyeol to finish typing. They both lived two hours apart if you calculated in public-transportation-time. The art major placed his phone with the backside first onto his chest, pushed his glasses onto his forehead and rubbed his eyes again. A quiet “ding” indicated the finished message.

> i wanna cuddle yu, I ned sum loaf from chu, babe~
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> 1\. How did you even manage to be accepted as a literature student into your university?  
>  2\. And have you ever heard about autocorrect?  
>  3\. How old are you? 7? 4. If you ever call me  
>  “babe” again I’m going to beat you up. ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙²⁷  
  
“What I’m going to do anyway next time we see each other," mumbled Kyungsoo into the direction of the ceiling. He rolled onto his stomach and waited for his best friend to answer, again.

> _\typing\_
> 
> Sorry, had to take a piss.  
>  I feel offended on a damn high level Soo  
>  I’m not drunk, can’t i play a lil prank on you from time to time?  
>  k  
>  maybe a little tipsy
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> …  
>   
> do you have an idea how hard it is to write on purpose wrong if lord autocorrect tried to correct everything u write wrong?  
>  ugh…  
>  and to answer ur questions: passed the entrance exam, already answered that, born 92 - defs not  
>  u’re still my babe :*
> 
> |   
  
Sending Chanyeol a selca smiling very cutely, the peace sing barely in the frame, Kyungsoo inhaled sharply. He chucked down the beer and stood up, turning back to the balcony to smoke. He fumbled during the whole time with his lighter, deep creases on his forehead. He started to get a headache.

And apparently, Chanyeol was “tipsy” enough to oversee the three dots Kyungsoo has sent him because he hadn't stopped writing bullshit. He unlocked his phone, after settling down again. Two could play the game. He opened the second beer.

> Heeey beautiful, looking good *awkward wink with both eyes*  
>  ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙³⁷  
>  Soo?  
>  You there?  
>  Hello?  
>  ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙⁴¹  
>  -1 missed call(s) 03:42-  
>  Oh shit!  
>  OH SHIT!  
>  ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙⁴⁴  
>  -2 missed call(s) 03:45-  
>  Kyungsoo, I’m sorry, i… I…  
>  Please don’t kill me.  
>  ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰³˙⁴⁷
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ⁰³˙⁴⁹  
  
«Incoming Call: **Dumbass** »  
Accept Decline  
[✓] x

“Chanyeol.”

Silence, he could only hear Chanyeol’s more or less steady breathing, but nevertheless it sounded quite heavy due to intoxication.

“Soo… I’m so s--orry..." Chanyeol was slightly slurring his words, but his voice was dripping with regret. He wasn’t drunk, but neither was he just “a little tipsy", so much Kyungsoo could hear. He thought it was a miracle that Chanyeol was still able to write correctly, even if he failed the punctuation and some minor mistakes a non-literature student could overlook.

Kyungsoo heaved a long sigh, “It’s okay, Channie.”  
He could clearly imagine Chanyeol’s pout and puppy eyes, his weak point.  
“You’ve already forgiven me?”  
Kyungsoo chuckled and nodded at Chanyeol’s surprised voice, at least until he remembered that Chanyeol couldn’t see him.  
“Mh-hm.”  
“Thank you, Soo. I love you!" whisper-squealed the puppy, “But could we go back to writing, I’m slurring, right?”  
“Uh-hu. And I love you too.”  
Kyungsoo ended the call and exhaled heavily.

**Dumbass**  
_2 unread message(s)_  
  


How was Kyungsoo supposed to stay mad when Chanyeol was looking so innocent with his glasses on. The image he sent him was taken in his own room, no more hat and jeans jacket, but still the cursed peace sign in front of his face and those glasses.

> Soo?  
>  _\typing\_
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Park Chanyeol, stop picking your nose while typing!  
>   
> Sorry…  
>  wait, how do you even…  
>  youre stalking me now?  
>  do you miss me taht much
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Channie, we’ve been best friends for years, I know what ya doin’.  
>  You told me that you are missing me and not the other way around.  
>   
> Here we war again, the sarcastic remarks…  
>  *ware  
>  dammit…  
>  *are
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Well, I don’t see whatcha talkin’bout.  
>   
> Soooooooo! I already told you I’m sorry…
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> You’re still outside? It’s Like 04:25 in the morning already.  
  
Kyungsoo started to feel the sleepiness slowly crawl into his bones. Armed with beer, phone, and smoking necessities, he got up and walked on the balcony for the nth time this night. He sat on the windowsill after he placed everything else down.

> u concerned bout me?  
>  nah, back home since I started writing you.  
>  well first selca obviouslyyx on my way back home  
>  sittin on the balcony?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
  
Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow and huffed.

> *obviously
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Who’s stalking who?  
>   
> «Audio Text Message 00:03»
> 
> |   
  
“I love you!” came Chanyeol’s slightly slurred voice from the sound system, which was still connected to the phone.

> Wanna watch the sunrise together?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Why not? I presume you’re already sitting at your window yourself?  
  
Chanyeol sent him a photo of his feet in his usual I-wear-socks-in-sandals-and-I-wear-my-socks-above-my-sweatpants outfit placed on the windowsill in his dorm room.

> Bring me the sunset in a cup,  
>  Reckon the morning’s flagons up  
>  And say how many Dew,  
>  Tell me how far the morning leaps—  
>  Tell me what time the weaver sleeps  
>  Who spun the breadth of blue!  
>  ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰⁴˙⁴²
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
  
Kyungsoo didn’t google the extract and just chose the easy way, he knew he would get the answer who it was anyway.

> | 
> 
> Poetry, seriously? And that’s about a sunset, not sunrise.  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> Huh?!  
>  Bashing Dickson now?  
>  Whos the literature student, u or me?  
>  youre probably picking your fingernails right now cuz theres paint left  
>  fite me!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I don’t see watcha talkin’bout.  
  
The bickering continues for a while until the sun’s up and the boys share photos of the sunrise until both fell asleep. Kyungsoo at least managed to leave the balcony somehow and flopped down onto the couch and dozed off with a content smile on his face. He should really meet up with Chanyeol next weekend.


	2. How To Fanfic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- an essay by PCY -

It’s been a little over two weeks since the boys met up for the weekend. Kyungsoo’s currently sitting in his last art history lecture of the day, subject: the early 21st-century movement. While he’s trying his hardest to jot down the given information in the most eligible way possible and trying to listen to his professor, who’s switching between the slides at an outrageous speed, his phone buzzes. To his dismay, the phone had direct contact with his glass bottle, giving away a rather loud and unpleasant noise exactly at that moment he decided to be silent. He just wished that the ground would open up beneath him and swallow him and his whole existence into the depths of hell.

Sliding deeper into his uncomfortable seat, he hid his face in his hands. Even though he sat in one of the few last rows in the lecture hall, he knew that everyone, professor included, was gaping into his direction. Fortunately, his lecturer decided to wrap up the presentation.

Kyungsoo clenched his jaw and glared at his phone after he slid it away from his bottle. He had an inkling of who texted him. A few more minutes and the lecture would be over. Chanyeol was about to die a rather painful death.

He stayed seated while the students were clearing out of the hall, he was finished for the day, meaning he wasn’t in a rush. Unlocking his phone, a selca of him and Chanyeol was displayed as a background. They took it when they met up and Chanyeol insisted on choosing it as background for both of them.

**Dumbass**

> _1 new message(s) (03:33 pm)_
> 
> Soo, im bored
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Wanna die?  
>   
> Soo! You’re alive!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Park Chanyeol!  
>   
> | 
> 
> Do you have any idea to what kind of humiliation you exposed me too?  
>   
> the glass bottle thingy again?
> 
> |   
  
Kyungsoo cussed under his breath. Chanyeol was right, it did happen a few times already, but in Kyungsoo’s defence, it always happened when Chanyeol decided to contact him.

> | 
> 
> I repeat my question. Wanna die?!  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> loaf chu :*
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> read 03:58  
  
Kyungsoo gathered his belongings, slid his phone into his pocket, but not before connecting his headphones to it and choosing some mellow tunes.

At the bus station, he rechecked his phone: 04:13 pm. The next bus was scheduled to arrive within the next three minutes. He fumbled with his lighter while glaring around. He didn’t forget his glasses, but he decided to not wear them right now. His phone buzzed, and the boy made a mental note to turn the vibration off.

**Dumbass**

> _1 new message(s)_
> 
> Soo?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
  
The bus arrived, as usual, every available seat was taken, and it was quite crowded. He stood next to the doors and started typing his answer.

> | 
> 
> What is it?  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> i was wondering, uh, well, what aer you reading at the moment?
> 
> |   
>   
> *are
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Assignment again?  
>   
> Yes and we have to writ a review about a novel as per usual, but I don’t kwn what to write about
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Channie, what’s up with your grammar/punctuation/orthography these days?  
>   
> | 
> 
> To answer your question “The Summoning of Everyman”.  
>   
> thats a play, not a novel
> 
> |   
>   
> wait
> 
> |   
>   
> what?
> 
> |   
>   
> you’re reading that? seriously?
> 
> |   
>   
> crazy much?
> 
> |   
>   
> just lazy
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> No, a contemporary English version.  
>   
> Ahh, I was shook to the core
> 
> |   
>   
> hey, look what i found
> 
> |   
>   
> that’s hilarious!!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> …  
>   
> | 
> 
> Do you still want my recommendation?  
>   
> pretty please~
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> H. P. Lovecraft?  
  
Chanyeol had sent him a screenshot of a tweet where someone wrote the past tense of William Shakespeare as William ShookethSpeared. Very tragic.

He left the bus at his destination and lit a cigarette. Inhaling deeply, he stood motionless on the bus platform, enjoying the upcoming breeze that entailed a scent of rain.

“I should open the windows, so it’ll cool down a bit," he mumbled to himself and set his body in motion. He looked from time to time in the sky, observing the rapid movement of the upcoming rain clouds. The different nuances of grey have always been oddly mesmerizing to him.

He reached the dorm, jingling with his keys in one hand and, the sight towards the ground, he almost crashed into one of his flatmates. After apologising and greetings afterwards, he continued his way.

In the living room, he flopped down face first onto the couch, after discarding his bag on the coffee table. He sighed into the cushion and snuggled deeper into it, hiding his face between the cushion and the backrest in the process. He wiggled on his back and retrieved his phone from his pocket, unplugging the headphones.

**Dumbass**

> _3 new message(s)_
> 
> Lovecraft?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> the idea is magnificent!
> 
> |   
>   
> I still have your hardcover edition of Mountains Of Madness
> 
> |   
>   
> sent 04:37
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> It’s in your possession?  
>   
> YEs
> 
> |   
>   
> whoopsy daisy
> 
> |   
>   
> sorry mate ;)
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> read 04:53  
>   
> Soo?
> 
> |   
>   
> babe?
> 
> |   
>   
> Kyungsoo?!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> read 05:08  
>   
> uh…
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> PARK FUCKING CHANYEOL!! I FUCKING KILL YOU! I SWEAR TO GOD!  
  
After giving Chanyeol a throughout chew out on the phone, which almost resulted in a near-death experience on Chanyeol’s behalf, because he underestimated the wrath of a very angry Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo was on the verge of purchasing a ticket to his best friend's place to mince the giant alive. He may be an art major, but he cherishes his books like life itself.

In the meantime, said male finished his protocol for the lecture. Because the fact is, the earlier he finishes it, the earlier he could enjoy his evening. No forced socialising - Chanyeol left out -, no human contact, just content loneliness.

And again, as if on cue, his phone buzzes. His eye-rolling was clearly audible, instead of visible, even behind closed eyes.

Unfortunately, one of his other flatmates was the victim of Kyungsoo’s scornful snorting. After he digested the initial shock, he didn’t see Kyungsoo and the couch from his angle, Keegan sat down on the armrest and observed the whining boy with widened eyes and furrowed brows.

“Dude, everything’s ‘kay?” he asked genuinely concerned, “Chanyeol?”  
Propping up his head and another round of eye-rolling, Kyungsoo confirmed Keegan’s assumption. Softly chuckling, he patted Kyungsoo’s shin before getting up. With half-lidded eyes, the slightly frustrated male followed his flatmate’s movements who left the shared dorm with a small wave and a reminder that there were leftovers in the fridge.

**Dumbass**

> _1 new message(s)_
> 
> His personality is brighter than a full moon on a fair and luminous summer’s night, shrouding everything in a magical glow with the reflected sunlight, while a gentle breeze rustles through the trees, leaving a tranquil shudder of goosebumps upon one’s skin, like a lover’s touch.
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> sent 07:14
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Heartbroken, much? Or are you the reincarnation of Virginia Wolff?  
>   
> ever heard about literary freedom?
> 
> |   
>   
> heartbroken hits the nail on the head
> 
> |   
>   
> Soo, babe… you’rw the one who broke my heart
> 
> |   
>   
> *ugly sobbing*
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Should I break your heart twice in a row?  
>   
> heartless bastard
> 
> |   
>   
> stop smirking, before i wipe that smug grin off your face, Soo!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Love you.  
  
Kyungsoo erupted into a burst of honest laughter, his best friend just proved that they knew each other exceedingly well. Sliding butt first from the couch on the carpet in an attempt to get up, Kyungsoo managed to get up at last. Occupying the balcony and with a dangling, a lit cigarette already between his lips, he answered Chanyeol.

> | 
> 
> Channie, did you read too much romantic poetry again?  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> Courtesy of my lit prof, im attending a lecture bout the 18th century romanticism movement and I try to apologise by praising your beauty and confessing my laof to you simultaneously
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> You always tell me that you love me...that’s nothing new.  
>   
> _\typing\_
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> One of my academic papers discusses romanticism.  
>   
> you never tell me you love me back :(
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> No, I won’t help you, there’s a subtle difference between art and literature.  
>   
> | 
> 
> Wrong, I do tell you that.  
>   
> lit is art too :(
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Stop pouting.  
  
Kyungsoo chuckles lightly, but due to a moment of carelessness, some smoke got into his eye. Blinking the uncomfortable feeling away in a succession of rapid eye movements, he rubbed the back of his hand over that eye. “Damned smoke, should have worn the damn glasses," he cussed to himself and put the cigarette out. Right on time, someone might say. The first drop of rain collided with the tip of his nose.

**Dumbass**

_2 new message(s)_

The attached image showed Chanyeol miserably pouting and obviously trying to be the overgrown puppy he already was.

> bae?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Channie?  
  
«Incoming Call: **Dumbass** »  
Accept Decline  
[✓] ✕


	3. How To Chanyeol Time Management

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a life adviser by DKS -

Kyungsoo’s thermos cup was filled with extremely strong coffee to the brim. Still, his eyes made no attempt to stay open longer than two seconds and he already gulped down a cup in a rush. Pulling an all-nighter wasn’t his forte, but he had to make last-minute changes on an already finished project, emphasis on “finished”. That’s one of those reasons why he despised group projects with a burning passion, at least for art.  
Kyungsoo stared holes into the wall next to him while he rested his head on the hard-wooden surface called mockingly desk. He also despised this specific lecture hall because of its age. Pretty sure this specific hall used to be a torture chamber in ancient times, that’s how old it was and that was still its primary use today. Slowly but surely absorbing student’s last bits of _joie de vivre_ and strength.  
After settling back into his seat, he sipped his coffee and observed the students who slowly invaded the lecture hall. He squinted at them, so no-one dared to sit beside him. Chanyeol would have taken that as an invitation to spark a conversation.  
Speaking of Chanyeol, Kyungsoo choked on his own spit. The person he just saw outside walking was an almost spitting image of him. Due to the shock, he almost ripped out his earphones. The not-so-tired-anymore-but-shocked-to-the-core male stared disbelievingly out of the window.

It wasn’t possible, was it?

A damn noisy ‘ding’ got him out of his trance.

**Dumbass**

_5 unread message(s)_

> SOO!
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> im so tired I dont wanna get up
> 
> |   
>   
> i have to get up but not earlier than 0930
> 
> |   
>   
> but i set my alarm for 8
> 
> |   
>   
> just so i can lay in bed and be angry about the fact that i have to get up
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ⁰⁸˙⁰⁷  
  
Kyungsoo released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Thank God, the person he saw was not the giant. After a relieved sigh, the meaning of Chanyeol’s message started to settle in. A few seconds more and it reached its full potential. Instead of feeling angry, Kyungsoo just entered a state of being where his soul plainly left his body. He stared blankly at the blackboard from where he was sitting, taking out his belongings automatically and tried to listen to the professor, who entered minutes ago. Sometime between that he managed to mute his phone.

**Dumbass**

_7 unread message(s)_

> Soo~
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> i dunt wanna meet up with the study group
> 
> |   
>   
> i dont wanna do that group assignment
> 
> |   
>   
> and i still didnt finish my review and analysis for Mountains of Madness
> 
> |   
>   
> deadline is the day aft tmr
> 
> |   
>   
> just finished 3 of the 7 pages
> 
> |   
>   
> *pouts*
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ⁰⁸˙²⁴  
  
The bespectacled male felt his eyelid twitching. His thumbs were absentmindedly hovering above the touchscreen, swaying from right to left, down and up. He swallowed his salvia.

> | 
> 
> Are you kidding me?  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Are you fucking kidding me?  
>   
> | 
> 
> Are you for real?!  
>   
> | 
> 
> Park Chanyeol!  
>   
> Soo, you answered!
> 
> |   
>   
> _\typing\_
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Park Chanyeol!  
>   
> | 
> 
> You had six fucking weeks for that assignment and it ONLY has 7 pages.  
>   
> | 
> 
> S E V E N !  
>   
> | 
> 
> Now you have the audacity to whine about THAT in MY presence?  
>   
> ya know…
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Don’t you dare defend yourself!  
>   
> We always say “dont u dare” but “do not u dare” sounds disgustingly wrong, dont u think?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Don’t you dare change the subject.  
>   
> | 
> 
> ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰⁸˙³¹  
  
Chanyeol successfully triggered Kyungsoo. Frustrated, he smacked a fist on top of the desk.

“Mr Do, sounds like you're not satisfied with my lecture?” asked a very displeased voice from the direction of the blackboard.  
The addressed person looked up bewildered, eyes the size of saucers, the colour drained from the face, leaving an unhealthy shade of paleness, the heart-shaped lips slightly opened. After the initial shock, followed the embarrassment; the worst one in Kyungsoo’s whole academic career up until now, like the worst of the worst.  
“Ah-, ah-, I’m so sorry, Mister, I don’t feel well. I’ll have to excuse myself”, stuttered Kyungsoo, grabbing his belongings in the process, almost forgetting the mostly untouched coffee that slowly turned colder. In a rush, he scurries out of the lecture hall, hundredths of eyes following him.

Outside of the building, he had a slight panic attack. Sliding down the wall, he sat on the ground, trying to control his breathing into a more stable pattern. Inhaling, holding breath, exhaling. Over and over again. That way he sat there for about twenty minutes, calmed down in the meantime. He was smoking with closed eyes, eyebrows dangerously furrowed. The lecture wouldn’t end for the time being and the traffic of students was limited around this time. Kyungsoo slowly regained his composure.

Fumbling his phone out of his pocket, which wasn’t that easy because he still set cross-legged on the floor, he sent Chanyeol a message after browsing the internet for a minute, less an actual message, but rather a screenshot without additional captions.  
He had a couple of missed calls from Chanyeol, but he decided to ignore them for the moment.

> | 
> 
> Park Chanyeol, you’re a lazy ass bum.  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰⁸˙⁵⁷  
  
He’ll pay Chanyeol back later. This was the peak of embarrassment for Kyungsoo in his whole academic career. Hitherto, all thanks to Chanyeol. He knew the literature student was struggling with time management, but not to this extent.

«Block User: **Dumbass** »  
Accept Decline  
✓ [x]

«Mute User: **Dumbass** »  
1 Hour  
8 Hours  
[24 Hours]  
Indefinite

«Muted [24 Hours]: receive notifications»  
Accept Decline  
✓ [x]

«For the chosen time period [24 Hours] the user [Dumbass] will be muted, you will not receive any notifications, still notifications will be shown in the chat itself.»

Kyungsoo was in dire need to vent out his frustration, at least someone to rant to, someone had to suffer with him. Instead of using the public transportation system, he decided to take a stroll through the park behind the university building, it was connected to the city centre. The walk in the park alone would take around thirty minutes if someone’s walking quite fast, Kyungsoo’s mood considered, in addition to his retainment not to run, 40 minutes. Halfway through the park, he decided to take a break, he sat down on a bench and lit a cigarette. Staring into the park’s leafy canopy, his mind started wandering on its own. He should visit his parents more often, just last week his mother called to ask if he’s coming back for semester break or if still had to take exams in between. He assured her he will visit and that he’s bringing Chanyeol with him, for the simple reason their families lived in the same town.  
Effectively, he still remembered his now slightly warm coffee and gulped it down, grimacing at the unsavoury feeling of lukewarm coffee which is even more bitter by then.  
Continuing along his way, he still didn’t put his earphones in, simply listening to the soft rush of wind in the tree leaves. From the park, it was a twenty-minute walk through the city to his shared dorm. While buying a coffee-to-go at a small cafe, he mentally decided at whose room to crash. The only available option was Keegan, Moritz’ girlfriend was visiting, and Ric didn’t even exist. Kyungsoo aimlessly wandered through the streets, smoking, drinking his coffee and observing how the city slowly woke up from its late summer’s night sleep. At some point, he reached the dorm. Flitting through the hallway, he made a beeline for Keegan’s bedroom in their dorm. Without considering to even knock on the door, he jumped into his roommate’s bed and laid there sprawled out like stranded whale. He missed the male by centimetres but effectively crushing Keegan’s legs with his own. Fortunately, the victim of Kyungsoo's antics already sat in bed, otherwise, the smaller one of those two would have attacked his stomach.

“Morning, sunshine. According to the dying whale sounds you make, something happened to ruin your mood”, Keegan patted Soo’s head while he kept his eyes trained on the book he was reading.  
“Kee~”, Kyungsoo whined.  
Addressed person raised an eyebrow and shifted his attention towards the whining male. He tried not to chuckle, but the picture presented was just too good not to. Kyungsoo, face-first in his sports bag, whining into it, while the rest of his body was sprawled out like a starfish.

In the evening, Kyungsoo pulled open the nightstand drawer and retrieved his phone. He used the day and finished most of his assignments for university. According to the numbers of notifications he received, either somebody had died, he was in six new group chats or something else must have happened.

He skimmed through the notifications, two of them were from Keegan, one from his brother, three in the group chat he was in and the rest? Courtesy of Chanyeol.

**Dumbass  
** _\online\  
113 unread message(s)  
11 missed call(s)_

He scrolled through the messages, a lot of them were just different variations of his first and surname, in between missed calls, a pouting Chanyeol, some longer messages; full of concern and questions. The last one was from around three hours ago.

Chanyeol must have seen that Kyungsoo was back online or he just constantly lurked in the chat and just waited for some form of reaction.

«Incoming Call: **Dumbass** »  
Accept Decline  
[✓] x

“I would like to join you in acknowledging the difficulties of your life”, Kyungsoo was grinning, spinning slightly around in his swivel chair.

“You are the worst at this comfort thing, Soo.”


	4. How To Blow It Like A Flute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a scientific approach by DKS -

**Meanie**

_1 unread message(s)_

Chanyeol saw the notification and his curiosity was instantly sparked, Soo takes the initiative to write first very seldom or when he's drunk, so it’s a rare occasion, nonetheless. Given that it was a Friday night, that latter one had a high possibility. He unlocks his phone.

> Blow it like a flute, show me what it do ♫
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Soo?  
>   
> | 
> 
> How drunk r u?  
>   
> Self-made liquor.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> no valid reason to quote Lu  
>   
> | 
> 
> ya kniw  
>   
> My swags on fire! ♪
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Stop. Quoting. Luhan!  
>   
> | 
> 
> gonna blackmail ya with it  
>   
> | 
> 
> u gonna regret it  
>   
> | 
> 
> trust me  
>   
> I just wanna show you my affection. :(
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> for starters in the affection department: wrong start  
>   
> | 
> 
> I have to teach ya…  
>   
> | 
> 
> second of all, WITH THAT TYPE OF LYRICS?  
>   
> No good good?
> 
> |   
  
Chanyeol was about to smack his head on his desk he was currently sitting at. Soo might be a fairly good drinker, as he was always the one to get the drunk giant home. But with self-made liquor? Well, hell was sure to break loose.

While Soo's unfailingly the quiet type, not much social interaction, observing, glaring when he forgot his glasses, needing his sweet time until he trusts you, but being a great friend nevertheless. Chanyeol's the absolute opposite, loud, outgoing, trustworthy, friendly, and Soo would definitely add “too obnoxious for his own good” to the list. When Chanyeol trusts you, then he would get a lot quieter, more composed, which was on stark contrast to his outer appearance and behaviour. That's one of those reasons why both males get along fairly well, they complement each other in different means. They could enjoy a long time without talking, thanks to it being a comfortable one.

**Meanie**

_1 new message(s)_

> Wanna go home.
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> ure away with the guys?  
>   
> Yes.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ask on of them?  
>   
> Will do.
> 
> |   
  
Chanyeol waited for an answer. He's tapping his chin in thought, squinting at the wall in front of him. There's an ugly ass doodle of Chanyeol, drawn by Picasso himself, Kyungsoo. He added a little note, quoting one of the YouTubers he watched frequently: obnoxious, but consistent. He even added a little heart beneath it.  
There are stains all over that napkin, courtesy of spilled alcoholic beverages. The date stated one of the countless meetings two years ago; under the influence of alcohol they decided to draw each other respectively.

> No luck.
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
  
_Dialling_ **Meanie**

After a few dial tones the call was accepted. The background noise was filled with an unpleasant noise, probably the inside of a noisy pub; a lot of incoherent mumbling, loud slurring and a disagreeable choice of music. A door chime was heard, at least it sounded that way to Chanyeol's ears. A muffled shutting and then nothing, the unexpected silence was unnerving at the moment after all those loud noises.

“Channie~?”  
“Soo, you're going home?," Chanyeol heard Kyungsoo inhaling strongly, probably him smoking, “Is someone with you?”  
“Nah, I'm going home by myself," Kyungsoo was slurring heavily. Chanyeol heard a string of muffled cursing, Soo probably stumbled over his one foot or his loose shoelaces. His prediction turned out to be correct, when he heard the phone contact a hard surface and Kyungsoo’s next words came out restraint and with a bit of distance in it.

“Channie, you're still hearing me?”  
“Yas, loud and clear.” Chanyeol leaned back in his chair, feet on his desk and staring outside the window. It was mildly raining, he saw the reflecting artificial light in the drops that sloppily made their way downwards on the smooth surface, “Is it raining over there?”

Sounds like Kyungsoo picked the phone back up, because his voice sounded a lot clearer than seconds ago, even with the heavy slurring.  
“Nah, dry," he answered with a steadier breathing.

It would be a quiet call, just listening to each other’s breathing. Chanyeol knew that Kyungsoo just needed someone on the phone, while he's on his way back.

“Ya know, Channie…”  
“Yes?”  
“I miss you, a whole lotto…”  
“I miss you, too.”  
“Don't interrupt me, I wasn't even finished!”

Sassy Soo was back, a drunk Soo is always a highly sassy one and emotional on top of that. Chanyeol chuckled softly, “My bad, please, continue.” He made a light unseen bow.

Silence.

“Ya know, well… You, you know I'm bad with words regarding emotions.” Kyungsoo almost swallowed the last few words, a whisper, almost inaudible to the naked ear, but on the phone it was as clear as a happy shout on a pleasant summer's day. Chanyeol decided to stay silent, except for the occasional mumbling. “But I really miss you, the last time we saw each other is… what was it? A month ago?”  
“Mh-hm.”

“Could you..., uh-oh, maybe… uhm…," a deep breath followed, “Free this weekend?”  
“Ticket's already booked," muttered Chanyeol into the receiver, while he stared intensely at his desktop and clicked the confirmation button in the opened browser window. Chanyeol didn't need to hear an explanation, after all these years it was already a given that he wouldn't ask why, Kyungsoo did the same for him.

Kyungsoo’s voice was laced with an internal hall, which sounded like he was already in the hallway of the dorms, which led to the conclusion that the pub is located down or up his street, he didn't use public transportation. The damned creaky apartment door and a loud clattering of keys inside a bowl confirmed it. Also, the displeased grunting sounded exactly like Kyungsoo, who tried to get rid of his shoes, while having the phone placed between ear and shoulder.

“You okay, dude?," laughed Chanyeol into his phone.  
“I hate you," answered a huff of annoyance.

“Soo, we both know that this statement is not true and therefore invalid.”

Kyungsoo was clearly scoffing at the receiving end. A lot of shuffling, muttering curses, creaky doors, and another string of blasphemous profanities later, Kyungsoo somehow managed to fall face first into the cushion of his bed, Chanyeol all the time on the phone, observing him by the pandemonium he made.

A bit more shuffling and grunting later he tried to get Kyungsoo’s attention but was only met with a light snoring.

“Good night, bae.”

_Call Ended:_ **Meanie**

32:43 minutes

The next morning.

> | 
> 
> r u sober?
> 
> ˢᵉⁿᵈ ⁰⁸˙⁴⁷  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ¹¹˙⁵⁸
> 
> |   
>   
> I’m moderately functional.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> i take that as a no  
>   
> You don’t say.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> remember much?  
>   
> | 
> 
> hmm? :>  
>   
> i don’t like where this is going, I refuse to scroll through the chat and don’t you dare to elaborate that!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Blow it like a flute, show me what it got?  
>   
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ¹²˙¹⁶
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> My swags on fire??  
>   
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ¹²˙²¹
> 
> |   
>   
> Bye, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I’m going to dig my own grave now. I refuse to live anymore; I feel like I gambled my permission to walk on earth’s surface away.  
> And I’m fucking hungover…
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> hey, its not that bad  
>   
> | 
> 
> he still has good songs  
>   
> | 
> 
> but ya decided to sendthose two, to, and I quote, “show [your] affection”, unquote  
>   
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ¹²˙³²
> 
> |   
>   
> Should I just jump down from the balcony? I’m standing on it anyway.
> 
> |   
>   
> Wait, scratch that, the old grumpy lady from the first floor just pulled weeds two days ago.
> 
> |   
>   
> But did you know that humans make great fertilizers?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> why do YOu know that?  
>   
> Did you try to blackmail me right now?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ure lucky u ddint sent any selcas this time ;)  
>   
> …
> 
> |   
>   
> I’m going to the library now.
> 
> |   
>   
> Don’t you dare to disrupt me.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> hungover?  
>   
> Shut up.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> love u  
>   
> Love you, too.
> 
> |   
>   
> I’m going.
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> before u go-go u asked me to visit u the next we  
>   
> Dear god, no!
> 
> |   
  
Chanyeol smiled to no one in particular, a hungover Soo is always a delight. It never disappointed and always made his day. He did feel sorry for Soo, but would never say that aloud, another one of those mutual understandings.

«Incoming Call: **Meanie** »  
Accept Decline  
[✓] x

“Who said I shouldn’t interrupt them?”


	5. How To Reizüberflutung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a report by KMK -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ger.: Reiz·über·flu·tung , eng.: overstimulation, sensory overload
> 
> : to stimulate to an excessive or abnormal degree

> | 
> 
> Channie, do you know Terry Pratchett?  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> I dont like where this is leading alrdy
> 
> |   
>   
> uh yes sure 
> 
> |   
>   
> but the real question is: why tho?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> He wrote about you.  
>   
> i knew it…
> 
> |   
>   
> this is defs getting worse than first expected
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> “If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he’d be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting ‘All gods are bastards!’”  
>   
> | 
> 
> This perfectly describes your idiocy!  
>   
> i hate u…
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I love you, too.  
>   
> | 
> 
> Hey, that’s not the main reason why I contacted you.  
>   
> | 
> 
> Hmm, but it’s definitely one of those reasons.  
>   
> yes spill the tea or coffee
> 
> |   
>   
> whatev suits ur taste
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’ll have limited network service during this weekend.  
>   
> | 
> 
> In short, I won’t read your messages.  
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m going to completely ignore you.  
>   
> ಥ_ಥ
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> The fuck’s that?  
>   
> *cries in 24 different languages*
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m going to block you for real this time.  
>   
> no!
> 
> |   
>   
> kay, im not in town anyway
> 
> |   
>   
> visiting yoora for the holiday this we
> 
> |   
>   
> wait, ure not home?
> 
> |   
>   
> where r u goin?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> That’s right, Keegan and I decided to take a weekend trip.  
>   
> im jelly :‘(
> 
> |   
>   
> i wanna too, with Soo
> 
> |   
>   
> hey that rhymed
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> …  
>   
> | 
> 
> Sorry, Channie, next time?  
>   
> call!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ⁰⁸˙⁵⁸  
  
Kyungsoo swayed the last drops of coffee in his “best Grandpa in the world” mug, a present from Keegan for his last birthday. He smiled as he remembered it, Kyungsoo had almost beat Keegan up.  
The mug had a reasonable cause, because Keegan sometimes playfully called him “Grandpa”, courtesy of Soo’s fashion choices, which are very questionable from time to time.  
He put the mug into the kitchen sink and cleaned it. After that, he placed his phone on the kitchen counter and waited for his roommate. They booked a hostel in a city around four hours away from their university for the weekend. Unnecessary bonding time as Moritz called it.

“Soo? Do you know where my hiking boots are?” called a slightly distressed Keegan from the other side of the apartment.  
“I told you to pack your bag ahead of time and why the hell would you need hiking boots? We’re in a city without opportunities to hike”, scolded an irritated Kyungsoo. They already talked about it.

**Dumbass  
** _3 unread message(s)_

> miss u :(
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> alr
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> ʳᵉᵃᵈ ⁰⁹˙⁰⁹  
  
Attached was a photo of a slightly pounting Chanyeol whose fring fell into his eyes.

“Did he dye his hair back? Tell him I said ‘hi’, will ya?” muttered a deep voice directly into Kyungsoo’s ear.  
He squealed a not very manly scream. Unnerved, he glared up at Keegan. That damned bastard didn’t even make a sound while approaching the smaller male.

Kyungsoo hit his chest, “What did I tell you about creepin’ up on me?”  
Keegan raised his arms in surrender and laughed out a ‘sorry’. Unfortunately, he hit his hand at a cupboard located right next to him.  
“Serves ye right!” muttered Kyungsoo, mimicking Keegan’s accent, “Do we have everything?”

“Yes mate, ‘cause ain’t got nothin’ on ye, when ye’ll scream bloody murder and I don’t need that again, but ye’re happy ye’re cute when ye’re angry” exaggerating his accent, Keegan winked at Kyungsoo who was ready to rip his head off. Walking over to the small one, he pushed Kyungsoo’s cap into his face and turned him around towards the door, with the other hand giving Soo his backpack and shouldering his own.

Kyungsoo was about to protest when Keegan shushed him. “Stop with that puss, mate”, the door closed, and Keegan locked it. Swinging his keychain around his index finger, he whistled while walking down the hallway. It was currently around 09:20 and the train was scheduled to depart at 10:15, but already had a delay of 10 minutes. The males would arrive at the train station in 20 minutes if the bus was on time.

When they arrived at the train station, Kyungsoo made a beeline to the bakery to get coffee and to the smoking area afterwards, Keegan always following him like a shadow.

> | 
> 
> I’ll miss you too, and tell Yoora I said ‘hi’.  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Also, Keegan says ‘hi.’  
>   
> that handsome fella?  
>  hi to him too
> 
> |   
>   
> *insert not so subtly fanboying here*
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I stand here and seriously question your sanity.  
>   
> | 
> 
> I don’t know if you’re clinically insane, incredibly annoying, or just plain stupid…  
  
Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows, sometimes he just didn’t understand Chanyeol. Two foreign thumbs softly rubbed out the creases on Kyungsoo’s forehead.  
“You’ll really look like my grandpa in no time, if you don’t stop that”, Keegan scolded him.

It wasn’t until Kyungsoo boarded the train he realised how crowded it was. Even though it was a Friday and the holiday weren’t until Monday, a lot of people were already on their way home or just getting to their destination. The students didn’t even tried at finding available seats.  
Due to the sheer mass of people, they stood slightly separated, but at least they could still talk to each other.

Half an hour into the trip, Kyungsoo started to get anxious, he couldn’t see Keegan from where he was standing. Due to two different stops, there was a constant shifting in the entrance of the waggon. He knew that they both stood near the doors, but after a few more stops and more human traffic, he just couldn’t see him anymore. Considering the fact that people were standing before him, backs turned towards him, not even acknowledging him at the slightest. Kyungsoo had almost no space to actually move, not even turning around was an option.

He felt the sweat trickling down his neck, the clothes beneath his backpack felt like he had run a marathon. His hands turned unnaturally cold and even the sweat on his forehead felt ice cold. He imagined it as a frostbite. He also felt his breath coming out in intervals that weren’t considered healthy, the pace rapidly increasing and shortened. Biting down hard on his lips, he tried controlling his breathing, covering his mouth and nose with his hands, but it was futile. He fumbled out his phone to somehow contact Keegan, but he felt it slightly sliding out of his hand. He couldn’t get a good grip on it.

“Feck off, mate!”

Suddenly, there was much more space before him, even if he felt that someone had put his hand on the small space of Kyungsoo’s back, rubbing circles under the backpack. He found himself on a level with at a clothed chest, that lifted and sank itself in a rhythmic pattern. Automatically, he fisted his hands into the foreign shirt, and he shifted closer to the body.

“I’m sorry, I almost lost sight of you”, mumbled a soothing voice into his ear. He softly giggled because the facial hair tickled his sensitive helix. Keegan was rubbing the strands of his beard a bit more above his ear to distract Kyungsoo. Trying hard not to laugh out loud, the distracted male started to calm down and Keegan released him out of his death grip, but still had him trapped between his arms.

Thanks to Keegan, people chose to stand away from the couple. With his considerable height of 1.95m, he was towering most of the time over most of the people. A significant part was also his full beard, he also had a natural “this-is-just-how-I-look”-face people considered scary. Kyungsoo remembered an occasion when Keegan was asked by a girl whether she did something wrong, the tall male was utterly confused, and she continued to tell him that he looks like he’s about to rip someone’s head off. His response was pure gold, at least for Kyungsoo, ‘Sorry, that’s just how my face works’.

Chanyeol once described Keegan as a god; 26 years old, slim build, broad shoulders, fit, light bluish-grey eyes, a perfect full beard, hair always ‘on fleek’ and Keegan McKinnon is of Irish-Scottish heritage. He may look scary, but the sports student was one of the most caring people known to humanity, especially towards those whom he admires. Keegan was a ball of pure fluff. And he was Soo’s roommate for almost two and a half years, the same period both of them call themselves ‘students’.

“I said ‘feck off’, dude!” spat Keegan above Kyungsoo’s head. An audibly shocked gasp could be heard as an answer. “Soo? Do you feel better now?”  
Kyungsoo nodded into his roommate’s shirt, who still hadn’t let go of him.


	6. How To Not So Subtly Crush On Your Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a failed experiment by PCY -

**Dumbass**

_1 unread message(s)_

> send_this_with_no_context_ to_your_crush.mp4
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> Duration: 00:32
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> …Are you for real?  
>   
> | 
> 
> I reconsider my choices in not blocking you until now.  
>   
> damn, I didnt knw ure online :D
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Technically, well, *literally* it says ‘online’ right beneath my name.  
>   
> | 
> 
> And, you know, you did see that video file’s name?  
>   
> | 
> 
> ⁰⁹˙⁴¹  
>   
> ...
> 
> |   
>   
> untitled.mp4
> 
> |   
>   
> Duration: 00:32
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m blocking you for real this time.  
>   
> does that mean it ddnt work? :(
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Death wish, much?  
>   
> what a bummer
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Channie?  
>   
> yes?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> What’s that all about?  
>   
> gettin on your nerves?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on that.  
>   
> nice!
> 
> |   
>   
> wait! did u agree with me?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> That was successful…  
>   
> | 
> 
> I take that ba…  
>   
> no second chances
> 
> |   
>   
> that’s not how life works!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Park Chanyeol!  
>   
> gonna mark that in my calendar
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Ugh, back to the topic…  
>   
> | 
> 
> Mind elaborating the fact you send me that video?  
  
Kyungsoo was uncomfortable flexing his shoulders, he laid way too long in bed today.

> :)
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Channie?  
>   
> told ya, jus gettin on ya nerves
> 
> |   
>   
> mission accomplished!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’ll come over and kill you!  
>   
> | 
> 
> I just heard my patience snapping!  
>   
> | 
> 
> You’re a dead human bean stalk.  
>   
> love ya~
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I don’t even want to answer anymore…  
>   
> Soo, don’t even deny your undying love for me~ :)
> 
> |   
  
Addressed male still wasn’t over the shock. Sometimes he had a hard time picking apart seriousness and humour in Chanyeol, especially if he tends to accomplish very serious topics with humour. Or was he just drunk in the middle of the day?  
He sat outside of a small café, stocking up his caffeine level. He got there directly after he got up. He needed some inspiration for his next project and the ideas weren’t flowing. Thanks to Chanyeol and his antics, Kyungsoo’s soul decided to unceremoniously leave its human host.

Outside the café stood an elderly man, playing the clarinet for about an hour already. Kyungsoo couldn’t decipher what the man was playing, but it was enormously soothing to the young man’s ears. He decided already long ago to get rid of his earphones so he could listen to the man instead.

Some people also took out some time out of their busy schedule just to listen for a bit to the man. Some onlookers were so immersed in the music, they started, almost unseen, moving their bodies, or at least their heads, to the music.

**Dumbass**

_1 unread message(s)_

> watcha doin?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> unnamed_video_file_0612.mp4  
>   
> | 
> 
> Duration: 00:22  
>   
> why does that sound familiar?  
>  what was it again?
> 
> |   
>   
> Benny Goodman?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Benny Who?  
>   
> Goodman
> 
> |   
>   
> a jazz musician
> 
> |   
>   
> big band jazz
> 
> |   
>   
> around 20s 30s
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Oh, okay, thanks for the information.  
>   
> ure welcome ;)
> 
> |   
  
Kyungsoo quickly made a few very rough sketches of some people. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the man wasn't dressed up warm enough for this weather. Autumn already started and it was getting colder day by day, coats were a must, scarves too, because today it was also quite windy.

Kyungsoo had paid for his coffee in advance, so after gobbling down the rest, he grimaced at the bitter and cold taste of what was once hot coffee. He adjusted his collar and straightened out the coat he was wearing. For a second, he felt like his model friend, ready to pose, but the wind thought otherwise and swept itself through Kyungsoo’s hair and transported his hair in a compact layer from right to left, leaving him with an ugly and unruly appearance. He grimaced the second time and fixed the scarf and hair in the cafe’s reflective windows period. Afterwards, he slowly approached the man and waited for him to pause his play, luck was on his side, because he stopped shortly after, but he still had enough time to observe the man.

Besides the fact that the man wasn't dressed as well as he should, Soo noticed quite a few clothes patches and stitches here and there. The man's face was weather-beaten, and he was quite sturdy for his age, Kyungsoo guessed the man’s age somewhere around 60 years old. The observant male had the impression of standing in the presence of an old sailor.

The man played his last song and started collecting the money from his instrument's pouch, the mass was clearing and that was the exact moment he approached the man at last.  
“Excuse me, mister?” Kyungsoo started.  
The man was clearly startled, his eyes displaying pleasant surprise.  
“Oh, I don't want to impose on you-”, Kyungsoo stuttered, intimidated by the man's height which had to be even taller than Keegan.

“Yes, son?” the man smiled at him as if the sun had risen after a thunderstorm.  
“I, uh…”, he shoved the scarf into the man's arms, “I saw that your clothes-, sorry, to be nosy!”  
The elderly man’s smile was replaced by sheer surprise, his eyes the size of saucers and his lips slightly parted, “Son?”  
“Just just take it, please, I don't need it and I still have two left home”, Kyungsoo rambled on.

“Oh my, oh my, thank you so much, may God bless you and your wonderful soul!” the man let out a deep laugh. He still looked like he didn't believe him, but he put on the fluffy scarf nonetheless.  
“No, sir, it's..., it's..., I really want, want you to have it”, Kyungsoo was still not speaking coherently and started up at the man with big eyes.  
“You mean it, son?”  
“Yes, yes, really. Take it as a present, for your beautiful music.”

The man laughed and it wasn't long before the smaller male and the man decided to talk to each other, and both got a coffee together. Kyungsoo's nervousness was slowly fading away.

It looked like the young student found an inspiration for his new art project and he actually guessed the man's former occupation right. Indeed, the man was really a sailor.

Sometime later, after Kyungsoo parted ways with the man he met in the city, he was on his way back to the dormitory. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.

**Dumbass**

_5 unread message(s)_

> i go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> and satisfaction feels like a distant memory
> 
> |   
>   
> and i can't help myself
> 
> |   
>   
> all I wanna hear her say is "are u mine?"
> 
> |   
>   
> Are you mine?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Chanyeol?  
>   
> | 
> 
> What’s wrong with you?  
  
Kyungsoo stood at the bus stop and stepped on his cigarette stub. Great, now he’s even littering, looking around for a trash bin he spotted one and marched over there.

> I guess what I'm tryna say is…
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> I need the deep end,  
>   
> | 
> 
> Keep imagining meeting, wished away entire lifetime  
>   
> | 
> 
> So on and so forth  
>   
> | 
> 
> Artic Monkeys – r u mine?...  
>   
> damn, son!
> 
> |   
>   
> how could u find it out that quickly
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Because I listen to them.  
>   
> | 
> 
> I know some songs by heart, you know?  
>   
> | 
> 
> Nice try, try something different next time you try to confess to me, aka troll me, with lyrics. Even rickrolling would’ve been fine, that’s my style.  
>   
> does that mean I have a 2nd chance?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> No, that isn’t what I implied. Just don’t try to use lyrics to lure me in again.  
>   
> so im not allowed to show my love to u thru lyrics?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Yes, that’s right, you’re not allowed to do that.  
>   
> whoa, what a bummer
> 
> |   
>   
> ure sucha party pooper
> 
> |   
  
Sometime later in the evening, Kyungsoo was lying in his bed and jotting down some ideas for his assignment, he even got the man's telephone number to contact him for further information and for inviting him to a possible exhibition. Well, the exhibition wasn't just possible, it was happening, because it was one of those intermediate examinations they had every two years.

Kyungsoo already told Chanyeol about his meeting with the elderly man, even his name was too much of a coincidence: Anchor, the man was destined to be a sailor. Kyungsoo didn’t believe him at first and the man had to show his ID card, and it was true, the man’s first name was indeed ‘Anchor’.

The boys decided on a video chat for a change, so they wouldn’t feel bad about drinking alone.

> | 
> 
> Chanyeol, do you know what I realised over the course of time?  
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> nah, but ull tell me
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m a bit impatient and not that gentle.  
>   
> ?????  
>  Kyungsoo?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> And I’ll play _you_ however _I_ want.  
>   
> is this some kinda jk?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Don’t be afraid, love is the way, shawty I got it!  
>   
> i hate u!!!!!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> You can call me MONSTER, I’M CREEPING IN YOUR HEART BABE!  
  
Kyungsoo snorted into his coffee mug while singing along. His victory was already ensured the moment he used translated lyrics. He tries to stay true to his national heritage from time to time.

> y u playin me like that?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> You started the whole ordeal this morning and if someone’s at fault it’s you. ;)  
>   
> | 
> 
> Love you!  
>   
> …
> 
> |   
  
«Incoming Video Call: **Dumbass** »  
Accept Decline  
[✓] x


	7. How To Deal with Oh Sehun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alternative title:  
>  **How to unsuccessfully seduce Kyungsoo**
> 
> \- a witness report by OSH -

**Sebooty**

_1 unread message(s)_

> 35 mins delay
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Allright, we see each other on 40 minutes.  
>   
> 👍
> 
> |   
  
Kyungsoo glared at the information board for the platform he was currently standing on. He’s supposed to pick Sehun up. The third delay was written on the board, ranging from five to twenty minutes to 35 now. Sehun should have been there four minutes ago. That’s why Kyungsoo despised trains, almost never on time. He retreated into the marked smoking area and sat down.

**Sebooty**

_1 unread message(s)_

> Looks like the conductor somehow managed to win 10 mins, that means he didn’t run over any kids or grannies 👏🏻
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
  
Kyungsoo wheezed, he checked his watch and processed the new information. Sehun would arrive in five minutes. Slowly, the young man stood up, walking to the staircase of the platform, this way he would have the whole platform in eyesight, technically. Emphasis on technically.

Kyungsoo didn’t expect the length of the train to be that long. It was much longer and a double- decker, not the train he considered in his calculations. Frantically, he tried to spot his tall friend in the crowd of bobbing heads, walking further into the crowd, but to no avail.

Suddenly, he was back-hugged. That shock almost resulted in a shriek from Kyungsoo, if a certain someone hadn’t nuzzled his face into the crook of Kyungsoo’s neck and mumbled something about missing him very badly. Turning around in the process, he melted into the taller man’s frame and inhaled his scent, but still rolling his eyes.  
“I missed you too, Sehun-ah.”

The happiness didn’t last long after Kyungsoo blindly felt the size of Sehun’s backpack. “Hunnie, how long do you plan on staying with me?”  
The smaller male looked up to Sehun questioningly, his eyes displaying more white than usual, voice slightly laced with shock and confusion, and still trapped between Sehun’s long arms.  
“A week?” answered addressed male, sporting a cheeky toothy grin.  
Kyungsoo groaned into Sehun’s chest.

Kyungsoo sent Chanyeol a selfie of Sehun and himself, taken by Sehun, while they are out eating around 06:59pm.

> i c someone is having fun without me :(
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Sehun here, sorry, bruh  
>   
> | 
> 
> But actually I’m not sorry for ur jealous ass in the slightest ;)  
>   
> Kyungsoo! the little brat is mocking me! defend meh!
> 
> |   
>   
> beat him up!!! :(
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Nope, can’t do that. I still need him unblemished.  
>   
> Wah??!
> 
> |   
>   
> SOO!
> 
> |   
>   
> i thought ure mine
> 
> |   
>   
> r u cheatin on me???
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Tsk, first of all, I’m no-one’s, and I need no man.  
>   
> | 
> 
> Secondly, that brat is helping with my assignment.  
>   
> >_>
> 
> |   
>   
> how long will he stay with u?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> A week?  
>   
> ure not spposed to answer my question with an answer urself
> 
> |   
>   
> and a week?
> 
> |   
>   
> i swear to god, i hope u do not sleep in one bed, i dont care how big ur bed is! i prohibit that!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Jealous?  
>   
> YES!!!11!!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Well, he decided that on his own and the project will take up more than a day’s worth of work.  
>   
> u couldve asked me :(
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> You have a presentation in literature this week, we already discussed this topic.  
  
Suddenly Kyungsoo’s phone was taken away from him, and a very whiny Sehun nuzzled into his side, demanding attention.

“You’re jealous too, aren’t you? Because he took ten minutes of my attention away from you?”  
A whiny ‘yes’ was the only response he got. Sighing, Kyungsoo refilled both their glasses, “You have my undivided attention now.”

“Yeah! Well, where was I? Ah- right. And that this ugly ass bit-”  
“Sehun, language!”  
“That ‘woman’ came up to me, attaching herself to my arm, squishing it like this between her unsightly melons. I was like ‘yah, problem?’ and she babbled something ‘bout getting in my pants. I swear, she said that.”

Sehun re-enacted the scene, using Kyungsoo as his own prop and himself taking on the role of the woman. He changed the pitch of his voice to a higher one, in order to do a very poor imitation of the woman. Kyungsoo was at his wit’s end and wheezed into his glass of beer, almost choking on the liquid. He just lost it all. It resulted in him almost spitting it out. He couldn’t keep his composure anymore and let out a loud laugh.

“Soo-ah, stop laughing! I’m serious here!” Sehun looked up, resulting in his neck unnaturally bending itself, he sounded hurt, but his loving smile betrayed him.  
“Sorry, but that im-imi-i...”, Kyungsoo’s voice cracked and he started laughing again. With tears in his eyes, he tried to continue. After several attempts, still laughing, he managed to formulate an answer,  
“Lemme guess, y-you gave her your usual handsome resting bitch face attitude and sa-said ‘I like men’?”  
“You should have seen her horrified expression!”

Sehun started laughing himself. He couldn’t restrain himself after Soo almost died laughing. He gently wiped Kyungsoo’s teary eyes with his thumb. All of a sudden, he leaned dangerously close to Kyungsoo’s ear, his expression changed from delightful to a drop-dead gorgeous serious face in a second. “I like men.”

Kyungsoo felt a shiver crawling down his spine, leaving a trail of goosebumps on his arms and neck, a blush threatening to rise from his neck to his ears. Sehun’s hot breath was still fanning in close proximity over his ear, carrying an ounce of liquor in it. The attacked male got the feeling that he felt Sehun’s eyelashes caress the outer shell of his ear. The younger one lingered unnecessarily long in Kyungsoo’s personal space. Kyungsoo felt a large hand sliding down his back, shifting from the spine sideways and coming to rest on his hip. He felt a little tug from that side as if Sehun would pull him forcefully into his side any second now.  
Swiftly, Sehun retreated and rested his chin on top of his previously unoccupied hand and smiled cheekily at the flustered the male. Lifting his shot glass up with three fingers, he winked at Kyungsoo before he downed it. He didn’t see that hurtful smack coming his way and winced while rubbing the sore spot on his upper arm.

“Feck off!” Kyungsoo glared at him, a murderous glint in his eyes, “I should have never ever introduced you to acting.”  
“Well, but that way I wouldn’t follow my occupation as a model now.” He winked at Kyungsoo for the second time, pulled out his wallet and asked for the bill, “We should head back, tomorrow will be a long day.” Kyungsoo just sighed in response.

The next day.

“Shawty, imma party till the sundown~”  
Kyungsoo’s eyebrow twitched dangerously every time that disaster of an overgrown baby opened his mouth. He skipped through the photos he already took of Sehun. For the past hour, he had to keep up with the younger one’s antics and attempts at rapping.

“How old are you? A primary student who has to be home by six, otherwise his mom will spank his blank ass for staying out too long?” asked Kyungsoo, still not looking up.  
Apparently, Sehun didn’t hear him, because he was still dancing through the studio while delivering some lines he thought would sound fantastic. Kyungsoo grabbed his phone from the nearby table and recorded the unsuspecting male.

_«Audio Message: 00:02»_

He saw the status notification changing from nothing to online in an instant.

> ‘thats right my type’?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Yes. I’m exposed to that since over an hour ago…  
>   
> poor u, hunnies always easily distracted when smths taking too long
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I know, but I can’t help it. How does he even manage to work as a semi-professional model with this attitude? Who keeps up with that brat?  
>   
> | 
> 
> I’ll wrap up the whole shoot in an hour. My prof already left over an hour ago.  
>   
> i ask myself the same question
> 
> |   
>   
> yah,would be best
> 
> |   
>   
> share the result with me later on?
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Sure.  
  
Kyungsoo sighed, he slumped back into the chair and stared at the ceiling. He started massaging the bridge of his nose.

“Should I take off my clothes? Would that be 19+?”

Kyungsoo bolted upright, staring with wide eyes at Sehun, who was smirking at him. He previously slipped one finger between his belt loop, unbuckling the loop, loosening the belt. He winked at the distressed male, licking his upper lip.

“Sure, why not. Don’t you want to go to a place, get naked and have fun? And I could need some new anatomy reference photos anyway”, he raised his camera, zooming in and focusing the viewfinder on Sehun’s collarbone. He raised mockingly an eyebrow and flipped Sehun off after he received the expected reaction from Sehun. Two could play that game.  
Sehun was shook to the core. He put the camera back down.  
“Do I sound like a pervert?” Sehun curiously asked, but Kyungsoo just blankly stared at him and looked back down on his phone, “But I am not a pervert.”  
Sehun continued muttering to himself and balanced out the options of him being one.

“Oh Sehun, you are a pervert indeed”, resonated a deep voice from Kyungsoo’s smartphone speaker. Kyungsoo just looked up to Sehun and wore a pretty intimidating and taunting ‘You-could-have-already-guessed-that-yourself-asking-such-an-obvious-question’ expression.  
“What did you tell Chanyeol?”  
“I just asked for his pretty obvious opinion, that's all.”  
Sehun pouted, “You’re meanies...”

Three days later, Kyungsoo’s bedroom was a mess, it looked like a bomb exploded right on his bed and next to it. Clothes were scattered everywhere, stripped off and carelessly thrown away the night before. On the bed was a tangled mess of limbs and bedsheets. Somewhere beneath the covers, a groan was heard and Kyungsoo’s messy bed hair popped up.  
He blindly felt around for his glasses and his phone. Adjusting his glasses, he squinted at the blazing display and read through the unread messages he received.

> Awake sleeping beauty?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> | 
> 
> Barely…  
>   
> | 
> 
> Keegan a GIF out of Sehun and me….  
>   
> SHOW ME!
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> Here you go…  
>   
> |   
>   
> u look like ure dying internally
> 
> |   
>   
> soo be like: if theres a higher entity, plz make this stop, I beg u
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I swear to god, I did. He was clinging to me the whole  
>  night. Shooing and scaring everyone away. It’s a disaster  
>  going out with him and Keegan at the same time, both  
>  looking like they’S beat you up the second you approach…  
  
The hold around Kyungsoo’s waist tightened before it loosened up again, the arm almost retreating completely, before the hand came to rest on his stomach. Lying on his stomach, a sleeping Sehun turned his head the other way, away from Kyungsoo.

A knock was heard on the bedroom door and Keegan entered. Upon entering, he scrunched his nose, “It reeks like a schnapps distillery.”  
“Morning to you, too.”  
He opened the window and, on his way back, he stopped next to Kyungsoo to ruffle the smaller man's hair. A deep pleased moan involuntarily escaped Kyungsoo's lips, while he closed his eyes and turned into the touch. Keegan stopped and Kyungsoo weakly protested.

Pointing at the lump underneath the covers next to Kyungsoo, he raised his eyebrows questioningly.  
“Yes, still dead drunk.”  
“I told him he wouldn't be able to tolerate that liquor”, shrugging, Keegan was about to leave the room, “Ah, right. Breakfast’s ready.”  
“Alright, coming.”

Kyungsoo lifted Sehun’s arm off his body. He adjusted the crumpled shirt he wore underneath his button-down the night before, sniffing to check whether it was still acceptable to be worn for breakfast after he slept in it. He decided it was appropriate to wear, seeing that even Keegan was still wearing his shirt from yesterday. He grabbed his phone, flinging his legs over the edge of the bad, slipping into his sandals. He picked up his phone again, browsing through a couple of folders and selecting a couple of photos.

> | 
> 
> Before I forget it: the corrected and edited photos of our precious baby for his portfolio.  
>   
> ---|---  
  
The batch of photos consisted of a well-built and half naked Sehun in different poses, one more sensual than the other.

> oh boi!
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> damn!
> 
> |   
>   
> bless your soup…
> 
> | 


	8. How To Stop Your Addictions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a persuasive speech by OSH -

Draping himself over the smaller frame of Kyungsoo, Sehun peered at the open document on the desktop the smaller was currently working on. When Kyungsoo leaned back and took a sip of his coffee, Sehun reached around Kyungsoo, skipping through the presentation. Propping his chin onto Kyungsoo’s head, he began to speak, well, more specifically, admiring himself.

“I’m hot as fudge, am I not?”  
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, “As hot as butter in the summer’s sun around noon can get. As hot as the tip of an iceberg. Et cetera, et cetera...”  
“With someone as hot and handsome as me, even blurry pics look like high quality magazine shots.”  
Kyungsoo dropped his head a little before slamming it back into Sehun’s chin.  
”Ouch, what was that for?” Sehun rubbed the sore spot.

Turning around in his swivel chair, Kyungsoo glared at him, “What about appreciating the man who had to keep up with your antics for days?”

“Do Kyungsoo, you are the best photographer I ever worked with”, Kyungsoo began smiling, “you make me even hotter than I already am!” Sehun gave him an exquisite crescent eye smile.

A loud smack was heard, followed by a muffled scream.

“Oh Sehun! I’m going to beat you up! Come back here, so I can skin you alive!” Kyungsoo stood on top of the couch in the living room, a half dressed Sehun behind the other one, his shirt around his head in a turban, mockingly grinning at the other male.

“Sorry to interrupt your lovers’ quarrel, but Soo, it’s already past nine fifteen, the bus won’t wait for you”, Keegan said in passing.

“Oh shit! Sehun, dress yourself right now and dress warmly, we have to go”, Kyungsoo ordered while he packed his belongings in his bag, “We’ll continue this at a later point after the lecture. This isn’t the end!”

Kyungsoo was extremely agitated, he hated to talk in front of people. With a burning passion, someone might add. It was easy to see how much of a nervous wreck Kyungsoo was. The seminar was usually held in a much smaller confinement, with less people, but this time it was in a lecture hall and a lot more people attended, the time frame being around four hours and not the usual two. They still had over half an hour left before the lecture would even start.

Sehun adjusted his snapback, pushing it a bit further into his eyes, while Kyungsoo was still running up and down, smoking. Kyungsoo continued rambling when they made their way into the hall. Sehun smacked Soo’s butt when he led him up the stairs, because Sehun wanted to sit near the top and plenty available seats were left to choose.

“Bubble tea.”  
“-and those pe- what?” Kyungsoo stopped mid-sentence.  
“Bubble tea”, Sehun peered at Kyungsoo with scrunched eyebrows. Kyungsoo stared back motionless, and in particular, speechless. “It was about time you stopped talking like the Niagara Falls”, Sehun sent a reproachful look towards Kyungsoo, who was still off track.  
“You do know that the obsessive amount of bubble tea of yours isn’t healthy?” Kyungsoo questioningly lifted an eyebrow.  
“Look who’s talking, aren’t you an avid smoker?” Sehun shot back, “And which city doesn’t have bubble tea?”  
“Ours, obviously.”  
Sehun’s tactic of distracting the bespectacled boy was successful, but now Kyungsoo would start a lecture about sugar and obsessions and defend his smoking. Sehun would sit through it if it meant that Kyungsoo’s nervousness would fade away. He leaned his head on the other one’s shoulder and listened to the boy’s soothing deep honey-like voice.

Thanks to the sheer amount of people attending, the lecture was dragging on and Sehun was about to fall asleep. Two and a half hours were left, but it was Kyungsoo’s turn any minute now. Sehun didn’t know a thing about art, but he knew one or two about photography itself.

**Dumbass**

_2 unread message(s)_

good luck, Soo <3 :*

|   
  
---|---  
  
show em what u got!

|   
  
| 

Thank you, Channie. <3  
  
Kyungsoo was extremely nervous. After he set everything up, he constantly adjusted his glasses, fidgeted with his sleeves, and had sweaty hands. He felt like he was going to suffocate any second. Kyungsoo looked towards Sehun, who sent him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. The student left his phone after Chanyeol sent his heartfelt ‘good luck’ message. Sehun took upon himself taking ugly selcas with Kyungsoo's phone.  
The first photo of Sehun provoked a mixed reaction among the audience, when it was projected on the giant whiteboard. The model wasn't a small number in the industry and his following wasn't small either.

Kyungsoo was not known as a social butterfly, that’s why it came as a surprise that he showed photos of the famous Oh Sehun. Due to the fact Sehun wore a cap, he remained unseen in the hall, and it resulted in him eavesdropping on nasty conversations about his beloved friend.

Kyungsoo used some photos the internet gushed about and fell in love with, because Sehun uploaded them on his Instagram. Kyungsoo was never mentioned in the captions, at least his pseudonym was, but he didn’t wanted to be hyperlinked in them.

“Is this guy for real? Stealing Sehun’s pics and sell them as his own work?”

“Wow, just because the profs like’m, doesn’t mean he can pull a stunt like t’is!”

Those were just the nicer things people said about the person doing the presentation.  
Sehun started boring holes in shit talking people’s heads. Just then he received a notification, someone tagged him in an Instagram post. Sehun was enraged at what he saw, the person took a photo of the whiteboard and Kyungsoo and bashed the male online. All of a sudden, more notifications started popping in.

The attacked, but unsuspecting boy was still unaware of the commotion about him. Kyungsoo was talking to the professor, who supervised his project. The elderly man had a few questions about a few photos and Kyungsoo was currently elaborating them. Suddenly, someone raised a hand, it was a girl Sehun already despised since she entered the hall. He had the feeling he saw her before.

Chewing obnoxiously loud on a gum, she said, “Err, sorry to interrupt. Got a question.”  
“Yes?” Kyungsoo looked at her, after he glanced shortly towards Sehun, who sent the girl death glares.  
“Why did you steal Sehun’s pics?!” she accused him.  
Kyungsoo’s forced smiley demeanour fell, “Pardon me?”  
“Are ya deaf? I asked why ya stole his pics and try to tell us that ya took ‘em. That photo is from last year and the other one was just uploaded yesterday”, she pulled a disgusted expression and Sehun felt the urge to do things to her, which would put him into jail, for a long time.

The accused male stared at her disbelievingly. At that moment, the lecturer turned around to negotiate, but it was already too late, more people started bashing Kyungsoo and didn’t give him time to defend himself.

“It’s Mr Oh, I don’t think we’re on a first-name basis”, a booming voice echoed through the lecture hall, successfully silencing everyone. She choked on her gum and Sehun lifted his cap, adjusted his hair, and couldn’t stop a sinister smile from creeping on his face, “Ms_ohsehun_lover_97.”

She was the one to upload Kyungsoo’s photo.  
“If you’re not deleting the post this second, then I’m forced to sue you for defamation, false accusations and so on. You guys are such hypocrites for disregarding the photographer you always admired for taking those photos, am I right Mr D.O?” Sehun addressed Kyungsoo by his pseudonym.

He collected their belongings and made his way down to the professor and the perturbed male, “You have an hour to clear the misunderstandings.”

He made a beeline for Kyungsoo’s notebook and bagged it. Sehun slung his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown and teary eyed. It broke Sehun’s heart to see his friend like this. He placed a kiss on Kyungsoo’s crown. Showing the onlooker _how_ friendly he was with Kyungsoo. On his way out, he thanked the professor and said his goodbye to him. Dragging Kyungsoo along with intertwined hands, he gripped a bit tighter, comforting him.

Leaving an ominous _‘one hour’_ hanging in the air, Sehun exited the hall. Kyungsoo heard the professor pointing out the other students’ condemnable behaviour and he made that quite apprehensible with the usage of informal language.

The ‘one hour’ was for the dramatic effect, Sehun later told Kyungsoo and Chanyeol.

Thanks to Sehun’s direct approach with the lawyer everything turned out in Kyungsoo’s favour. Sehun and his manager succeeded in curbing the story and released statements regarding that matter for future reference. Kyungsoo was linked officially in the captions. The people who started the rumours and false accusations apologised, on- and offline. Of course, there was some damage done, mainly to fans who just didn’t learn.


	9. How To *insert working title here*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- *text form* by *name* -

Kyungsoo had his head tilted upwards as he stared into the sky. He observed a few lone seagulls until they left his line of sight. Considering that it was almost the end of November, the sky was unusually blue, without a speck of clouds. But stepping outside proves the sun to be pretty useless these days, the temperature during the day already stayed around the freezing point.

Keegan called him a burnt marshmallow when Kyungsoo was about to leave the house wearing his thick coat and travel backpack. Soo just flipped him off before throwing his arms around the much taller man in an attempt to say goodbye.

He stepped outside and shuddered due to the sudden coldness surrounding him. Pulling down his beanie further into his face, he lit a cigarette. It was anything but easy because he left his gloves inside. ‘The loneliness of the outdoor smoker’ he thought to himself and chuckled. It was his own fault if he decides to smoke in this cold. No need to blame anyone except himself. Fumbling with his lighter, he managed to light the cigarette at last.

The wind was sharp and carried a hint of ocean in it, but you still couldn’t hear the sound of crashing waves at the bottom of the cliffs. His destination, the cliffs, were still an hour drive away from his current location.

The screaming of the seagulls passing almost drowned the sound of a vibrating device. With the doors shut, the vibration was muffled and Kyungsoo watched his mobile device slowly slide down on the slightly rounded surface before dropping straight into the footwell. Deeply annoyed, he squinted his eyes towards the opposite direction from where he was standing at the car. The cigarette dangling between his purple-blueish lips, he opened the car door and bent down to grab his damned, and still buzzing, phone from the ground and throw is hand above his head, flipping no one in particular off.

“Soo-ah~”, sounded an obnoxiously loud voice from the speaker.  
Watcha want?” Kyungsoo gritted his teeth. Holding cigarette between his index and middle fingers, he massaged the bridge of his nose with the tips his of thumb and index.  
“Stop furrowing your brows or you’ll get nasty wrinkles”, a laugh resonated from the phone. Kyungsoo turned back to the opposite direction and unceremoniously flipped of the caller this time.

“Ah, I see, a grande black coffee it is”, was the only answer Kyungsoo got, the next part of the speech was mildly less clear, “Right, and I like to also take two of those muffins, and, eh-”  
“Tobacco.”  
“Tobacco, a green pouch, that on-, no, ah~. That one over there. Yes, that’s all, may I pay with card?”  
“Should I end the call?”  
“No, no, no, no, no!”  
The frozen male sat back into the car and stared towards the gas station in the rearview mirror, “That’s an useless expense of money.”  
“But I wanna hear your voi-”  
Kyungsoo snorted irritated and ended the call.

Shortly after, the passenger door was opened and large hands handed him the purchased goods. Couldya take it?” a muffled voice asked, and Kyungsoo knew for sure the man was eating and talking at the same time.  
“Sure, but what did your mom teach you about eating and talking at the same time?” Kyungsoo looked up questioningly.

The giant bent down to level with the sitting man, stabilising his stance by resting one hand on top of the door, half eaten muffin still in hand, and the other one on top of the car.  
With a dazzling toothy grin, crumbs on his lower lip, and showing a beautiful eye-smile, he asked, “Could you leave mom out of it?”  
“She told me to keep an eye on you.”  
“Says the one who flipped me off minutes ago. Hypocrite! And I’m older, I should keep watching you instead”, Chanyeol winked at him and closed the door.

Rounding the hood of the car, he opened the driver’s door and slid into the seat. “I like me a good butt heater in the car seat”, he wiggled deeper into the seat and bit into the muffin. Chanyeol grabbed one of the cups and lifted the lid, peering into it.  
“That’s yours”, he said and swapped the cups. The men sipped their beverages and ate in a comfortable silence until a beep cut through it. Curiously, Soo stared at Chanyeol, who stifled a laugh when he checked the content of the message.

**Sehunnie**

_1 unread message(s)_

> Keep your dirty hands off my penguin >:(

Chanyeol was about to type a response when Kyungsoo stopped him and wiggled with his finger, indicating Chanyeol to pass the phone. Chanyeol held his phone near Soo’s face and hit the audio button.

“Sehun-ah, dear~”, Kyungsoo’s voice dripped like honey, coloured with mischief, “I don’t think your man wants you to call other men ‘yours’~”

“And you’re lucky that you’re cute when you’re angry”, added Chanyeol.

**Sehunnie**

> 🖕

The males shared a heartfelt laughter, Chanyeol buckled up and motioned his best friend to do the same before he started the engine. Turning on the motor caused the radio the start again and Kyungsoo almost spilled his coffee when the music started playing at a high volume.

“...when the world seems to shine like you had too much wine, that’s amoreee~”, Chanyeol was singing along in full volume while he tried not to laugh at Kyungsoo’s reaction, but that only resulted in him cracking his voice. Chanyeol lowered the volume and grinned at Kyungsoo before pulling out of the parking lot, back on the road.  
“Channie, you look like an idiot grinning like that. Stop it, it’s creepy as fuck.”

Sometime later, Kyungsoo was talking about something recent. “Well, I don’t know much of it myself, but apparently we drank so much that I curled up at Keegan’s side, wrapped my arms around his torso and fell asleep, while Mina was with us. Keegan seemed to instinctively wrap his arm around me. That’s at least what Moritz told me.”  
The car stopped at a red light and Chanyeol slightly tilted his head towards Kyungsoo while he kept an eye on the traffic light, “And what did his girl do? I’m quite intrigued now to know what kind of stunt she pulled this time.”  
“She was like”, Kyungsoo changed the pitch of his voice to a female, more obnoxious one, ”‘Hey bae, wanna tell me somethin’?’ And he didn’t know what to say.’”  
“Go on, I’m already sitting on the edge of my seat”, Chanyeol answered him with a faked shock on display, he set the car in motion again.  
“Channie, you’re sitting in your seat as if you own the world”, Kyungsoo mocked him playfully.  
Pulling a pout Chanyeol answered with _‘party pooper…’._ But then, he tilted his head towards the driver’s window and propped his head on his hand. He smirked, Kyungsoo watching him with evident suspicion.

“Would you believe me if I said I can hold the whole world with my hands?”  
“Chanyeol, you’re not Atlas...”  
“But if I cup your face in my hands, I’m able to hold my whole world with my hands.”

Kyungsoo raised a fist and waited for a safe opportunity the smack Chanyeol on the upper arm, who was laughing delightedly at the flustered male. Kyungsoo would never admit that he blushed beyond the tips of his ears.  
“Anyways, she asked him if he had a thing for me, like he turned gay, and he was like choking on his drink and said _’pardon me, babe?’_ Moritz pointed out that she did feign anger, but she did a miserable job at keeping a serious face.”

Chanyeol, eyes still trained on the street, started laughing. He patted Kyungsoo’s thigh, overly enjoyed, and continued in realisation, “Ah, right, I just remembered. Didn’t she also say she would pick you over Keegan anytime if she had the opportunity, a few months prior?”  
“Oh, yeah, you’re right!” Kyungsoo clasped his hands together in delight, “She also told Keegan that he wouldn’t even have a chance with me. Apparently, he was still speechless and dumbstruck at the same time. And if it wasn’t enough, my other roommate passed through the living room and asked Keegan _‘you don’t know he’s an ace?’_. And this point, I was back to almost being awake and mumbled something like _‘and a homoromantic one’_ on top of that.”

Chanyeol let out a sound of surprise, “Ahh, he didn’t know until then about your sexuality”, he pulled into a parking lot and turned the engine off. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he turned towards Kyungsoo, “Wait, he didn’t know it before that?”

The smaller one grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open to exit the car. Outside, he pulled over his coat, beanie, and scarf. He lit a cigarette and, inhaling the smoke, he turned around and looked back at his best friend. With a dazzling heart-shaped smile, he rounded the car, came to a halt next to the giant and linked arms with Chanyeol, who was currently adjusting his scarf as well. While he dragged Chanyeol along and taking drags from the cigarette, they neared their destination, the cliffs by the shore.

“Well, I never told him, I saw no need to do so.”  
“Understandable. And how did Mina know?”  
“Remember the one time someone tried to set me up with a girl, around a year ago?”  
“Don’t tell me she tried to play Cupid. That’s too good to be true!” Chanyeol exclaimed, “But I still ship KeeSoo.”


	10. How To Karaoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a performance by PCY -

“Picturesque.”  
“Pastoral.”  
“Sublime.”  
“Beautiful?”  
An unamused snort was heard, “Pff, vivid.”  
“Charming.”  
“Quaint.”  
“Scenic.”  
“Exquisite.”  
“Good-looking.”  
This time, it was a reproachful gasp, followed by a few seconds of silence, “Stunning, superb, magnificent, dazzling, marvellous, delicate—wait, scratch that, splendid, et cetera. And you call yourself a literature student?” with falling shoulders, Kyungsoo crossed his arms above his chest, cocked his head ever-so-slightly to the side and threw shade towards Chanyeol, glaring above the rims of his glasses.  
”Okay, point for you”, Chanyeol held up his hands in defeat and sighed.

The boys stood at the feet of the cliffs, still located on the rocky shore, watching the waves break rather violently at the rock formation bordering the cliffs itself.

“Soo, what are you thinking about?”  
“Meaning of life?” Kyungsoo glanced towards the taller man over the rim of his glasses, this time no sarcasm lacing his voice.  
“42.”  
Kyungsoo smirked and continued, “Well, actually about Caspar David Friedrich.”  
“Almost the same”, Chanyeol answered, “Which work are we talking about specifically?”  
“I’m torn between ‘Rocky Reef on the Sea Shore’ which actually fits very well with the actual scenery right now, but I do feel like the ‘Wanderer above the Mists’.”  
“Ah-”  
“You have no idea what I’m talking about?”  
Chanyeol bashfully scratched his neck and let out a toothy grin. “Well”, he bagan, “You’re not wrong in particular, but I do know the last one.”

Kyungsoo smiled, “Isn’t that one also on one of the book covers in your ever-growing collection?”  
“Yes, yes!” Chanyeol’s eyes lit up in realisation and radiated with sunshine, with his mitten-clad hand he pointed towards the cliffs, Kyungsoo could very lively imagine Chanyeol’s index finger stabbing in the general direction of the rocky structure, “H. G. Wells ‘The World Set Free’, speaking of Wells, ‘The Sea Raiders’, the cliffs and the steapy way down here remind me of the initial scene of the book, before the reader encounters the sea creatures for the first time.”

This time, it was Kyungsoo’s turn to have no idea what the giant was talking about.

The morning after, the duo was back on the road. They checked out quite early because today’s stage was one of the longest ones. Six hours to be specific. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo decided to change the driver after three hours each. Kyungsoo already drove his two cents and had two hours to go. The taller one definitely wasn’t a morning person and fell asleep right away, after buckling up. It was still just shortly after seven and the sunrise wasn’t predicted until 7:45.

Coming to a halt, he turned off the engine and unbuckled himself from the seat belt. He brought his thermos mug to his lips and rested those on the rim of the drink opening before he took a sip.

“Soo, why did we stop?” Chanyeol asked with a very sleepy voice, dragging the words, half-lidded eyes and a derpy yet content expression plastered on his face.  
“Bascule bridge. We missed the appointed time frame; we’ll stay here for around twenty minutes. You should go back to sleep”, Kyungsoo carefully pushed a strand of hair out of Chanyeol’s forehead, “I’m stepping out for a cigarette.”  
“Mh-mhm”, humming, Chanyeol wiggled deeper into the passenger seat and hid his face in the coat he used as a blanket.

By the time they’ll be on the bridge itself, the sun would start to rise over the horizon, the exact thing Kyungsoo intended, that’s why he ‘missed’ the lifting of the bridge on purpose.  
He let the Lo-Fi-playlist he chose for hat day playing while he stepped outside. The road was eerily empty around this time, given the fact that it was a weekday outside the holidays and it wasn’t even off-peak season anymore. The bridge crossing had an estimated travel duration from twenty-two minutes, but the elderly woman at the B&B said it’s more like half an hour alone, without the sightseeing effect. And no-one would even think about using this specific bridge as means of transport, too high the risk of an unscheduled ship passing.

The bespectacled boy waited until his glasses acclimated themselves, before rounding the car and propping himself up on a ledge. There wasn’t any wind that morning and the sky was still fairly clear, the horizon was slowly changing gradients. The wave movement was sluggish and rhythmic. Kyungsoo was humming to himself and inhaling the smoke at a decent pace.

Standing still for too long was counterproductive in this cold, the temperature may be above the freezing point, but at the same time dangerously close to it. He moved sluggishly up and down the frozen roadside verge and peered into their car.

Chanyeol’s lips were parted and coincidentally a string of saliva tried to fight gravity. Kyungsoo laughed softly to himself, releasing a cloud of white breath from his own lips. He made his way back to the railing of the bridge.

The container vessel was almost at the bridge. It was one of the smaller ones, designed for the inland marine transport in the canal streets. It was almost empty, regarding the height of the water mark around the vessel itself where the paint was more or less missing. The ship moving at a moderately speed, Kyungsoo spotted a person on deck, presumably a sailor, on watch or just on a cigarette break, otherwise no-one would voluntarily set foot outside.

Kyungsoo raised his hand in an attempted greeting and was answered with an enthusiastic wave on the part of the sailor and a shouted greeting. He laughed, showing his heart-shaped smile and shouted ‘ _Ahoy’_ back. Having this small interaction let him feel all giddy on the inside, like a little kid on the morning of holidays. Apparently, the captain looked outside the window to see what the commotion was about, seeing his mate and Kyungsoo waving at each other left him no other option than joining in. After that, the ship disappeared behind the lifted bridge construction and Kyungsoo was alone again.

He went back to the car. Settling back into the driver’s seat, he took out a handkerchief and gently whipped the still present string of saliva off Chanyeol’s lower lip. Upon contact with Kyungsoo’s thumb, Chanyeol’s lower lip slightly trembled and he let out a content hum, leaning deeper into the touch. Well, until he smelled the cold smoke lingering around Kyungsoo, pulling a disgusted face, he retreated back into the depth of his own coat.

“Shawty got me like, woah~, what’s up bebe - you’re so hot babe, diggin’ diggin’ on you~”, slapping Kyungsoo’s thigh rhythmically and drumming his long fingers on the steering wheel, Chanyeol was singing along while driving on the highway. Bobbing his head to the beat, he took a glance in the rear-view mirror and overtook the car before them.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, was immensely irritated, tapping the tips of his fingers on his kneecap in order to control himself, but his eyelid was already twitching. Chanyeol had too much energy after sleeping for so long, Kyungsoo made a mental note to not let that happen again. He would make sure that Chanyeol would be deprived of his energy and even if it meant a ridiculous amount of alcohol that evening, a hungover Chanyeol was easier to handle than one with too much energy.

Later that evening, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were sitting in a cozy little pub, but Chanyeol was currently occupied with an intense drinking battle with one of the older patrons.

At first, the two friends just sat together drinking beer, but the locals asked them to join them at the bar, even the innkeeper ensured them that it was perfectly fine and they had nothing to be afraid of, but he didn’t see that coming either. He threw Kyungsoo an apologetic look while standing opposite of him behind the bar, Kyungsoo just shrugged his shoulders, “‘m sorry ‘bout that, but we don’t have youngsters as ye here very often”.  
He put down a freshly drafted beer in front of the young man, “On the house.”  
Just then, Kyungsoo whipped his phone out and had a smug smirk on and grinned mischievously, “Actually, this just makes my job easier. Hey, don’t give me that suspicious look, it’s just payback for today and being overly energetic, I drove with him in a car, not you.” The barkeeper didn’t looked very convinced until he received a short rundown of what happened. The man just nodded understandingly, producing a bottle of liquor and two shot glasses from under the counter.

“Selfmade?”  
“Nah.” Kyungsoo sighed in relief, the elderly man filled their glasses to the brim and shoved one of them gently towards Kyungsoo, “I know how ye feel, every weekend with those lovely gentlemen. Cheers, son.” The man also placed a glass of water down, because he knew Kyungsoo could use it, “A friendly reminder, if ye choose to stay with that, always have water with it.”  
The liquor was burning in his throat, but it was a pleasant burn, one that warms you up in a cold winter day, with a pleasing warmth spreading in his stomach area.

Kyungsoo focused his phone on Chanyeol, who was about to do something outstandingly stupid in his state. While starting to record the whole ordeal, Kyungsoo reassured the man, “I’m so sorry, if he destroys something, he’ll pay for it, I’ll give you his contact information.”  
“No worries, seen worse”, propped up on one elbow, the man scratched his moustache and just shook his head, “Guess they’re still not mature at that age.”

After sending the video, Kyungsoo almost immediately received an answer.

**Sebooty**

> First was a photo of Sehun and his long-term boyfriend Donghae he met on a after party, unfortunately one of the singer of the song Chanyeol had sung along to in the car earlier that day.
> 
> How is he still alive?
> 
> |   
>   
> ---|---  
>   
> We thought he would be dead by now
> 
> |   
>   
> Looks like we worried too much about you  
>  penguin~ <3
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m surprised myself, thought the landlord  
>  would’ve kicked us out long ago.  
>   
> | 
> 
> Donghae, how are you anyway? It’s been some  
>  time.  
>   
> I’m great, thanks for asking, what about you?
> 
> |   
>   
> By the way, selfpromo?  
>  …
> 
> |   
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m sure it’s great, but Channie was singing it  
>  all day long.  
>   
> | 
> 
> I’m in no condition nor position to give an  
>  elaborate feedback.  
  
Kyungsoo sipped his beer and cringed at the scene unfolding before his very eyes; Chanyeol, arm in arm with one of the locals, each of them had a shot glass in the unoccupied hand, roaring out trot songs at full volume.  
Kyungsoo was glad to stay the night in this lively and lovable coast town, but at the same time he was glad that Chanyeol had a massive headache and hangover incoming. That would mean just lazing around and taking a walk around town and the coast the next day.


	11. How To Grande Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \- a closing statement by DKS and PCY -

Kyungsoo shivered violently and his sleepy mind wasn’t in the state to comprehend how and why. He forced an eye open and stared towards the window with its small curtain. It was pitch-black outside, except for the yellowish-white flickering streetlamp outside. He needed a few seconds to realise where he was. With a gleeful colour scheme, the small clock on the nightstand let the disgruntled man know that it was around 4 in the morning.  
He felt around blindly for his blanket, but to his dismay, he couldn’t make it out anywhere near his quivering body. Instead, his elbow bumped into a soft mountain behind him, which winced.  
Suddenly, he was wide awake. Trying to turn his body into the direction of the sound, he craned his neck, and therefore his face into the pillow. Turning his face a bit more, resulting in a squished sheet and distorted eyesight, he adjusted his lying position into a more comfortable one. With the little light from the outside world, he made out a white blanket burrito, crowned with a mop of hair. Nothing else was seen.

He gently stretched out his hand and traced the outline of the blanket pile. Caressing the mop of hair, he felt the regular breathing pattern and how the owner of the hair leant unconsciously into the touch. While he stroke the messy hair, he glared at it. Retracting his hand, he formed a fist and smashed it down into the estimated position of the thigh.

“Fuck!”  
“Blanket! Now!”

The mane wriggled itself free of the burrito and a sleepy yet alarmed Chanyeol popped up. In his drowsy state, his eyes traced the backlight illuminated silhouette of Kyungsoo’s freezing body and his eyes shot open in realisation. All of a sudden, the pile was lifted in a hasty attempt and two arms found their way towards the shivering male.  
One large hand graced the skin of Kyungsoo’s neck and his pillow before it locked around it. The other one was placed on top of his waistline and slid down onto his lower back.

Kyungsoo shivered beneath the sudden warmth on his exposed skin when Chanyeol’s hand came into contact with the bare skin between his lifted shirt and pyjama pants. But before Kyungsoo could even react, Chanyeol pulled the smaller male into his arms under the blankets. Circling his arms around Soo, he pulled the blankets above them. Kyungsoo, face first in the crook of the giant’s neck, exhaled in satisfaction. He wrapped his own arms around Chanyeol’s upper body. Inhaling his scent, he fell back asleep.

“Yes, Young-Mi, I'll make sure he gets enough sleep before tomorrow”, Kyungsoo innocently spoke into the receiver of his phone while looking at Chanyeol with a sinister smile. Addressed male gulped audibly and was fidgeting in the driver’s seat, hands on the steering wheel, flexing uncomfortably. He was more than relieved when the traffic light switched to green and he was able to start the car again.

“Yes, we’ll give you a heads up before arriving tomorrow- yes, sure. - mh-hm… you think so? - Ahh, Chanyeol, you can park there~”, Kyungsoo gently nudge Chanyeol’s thigh and pointed at a parking lot on the other side of the small street.  
Chanyeol manoeuvred the car in a parking space near the building, destined for guests. Shutting off the engine, he turned his head towards his best friend, while unbuckling himself from the seat belt. Kyungsoo, still on the phone after unbuckling, bent his upper body towards the back seat. He placed his cheekbone on Chanyeol’s shoulder, having a nice view on the other one’s jawline, and scrunched his eyebrows. He tried to blindly grab his bag out of the footwell, but his arm was too short, and he only graced a hint of the bag with the tip of his middle finger.

“Fucking hell-”, he cursed under his breath before visibly flinching, even Chanyeol could hear his mother’s response to Kyungsoo’s outburst of profanity.

Chanyeol bit the inside of his cheek, almost drawing blood and trying his best to not laugh out loud, because Kyungsoo already glared at him with his death stare. Pointedly, he raised an eyebrow.  
Meanwhile, Kyungsoo gave up on his quest of retrieving his bag without getting up. Sinking back into the seat, he sighed, but Chanyeol was his knight in shining armour and placed the bag into his lap.

“Should we go?” Chanyeol quietly asked the other one.  
Kyungsoo nodded and tried to shrug his coat on with one hand, the other hand still holding the phone, Young-Mi still on the other end. Chanyeol assisted him, holding the left arm of the coat so Kyungsoo could slip into it. Switching hands and phone, he managed to pull on the coat.  
“As I already mentioned, he’ll contact you tomor- yes. Will do. Yes, we’re about to check in- yes… yes… all right…” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and puckered his lips. Slightly unnerved, he stared at his best friend. Chanyeol smiled, he understood Kyungsoo’s reasoning very well, he knew his mom loves to chat on the phone, talking miles a minute.

Kyungsoo somehow managed to end the phone call. Stepping out of the car, he lit a cigarette and zipped up his coat. Hiding his hands in his pockets, he leaned onto the car. Chanyeol walked around the car and settled himself next to Kyungsoo.

“As much as I love your mom, she can be pretty damn stressful”, the younger one sighed, the cigarette dangling from his lower lip, mixing smoke with the cold air.  
“I know, I know”, Chanyeol chuckled in response and pulled Kyungsoo’s beanie further into his face.  
“Hey! You giant bastard!” Kyungsoo playfully kicked his shin after re-adjusting his beanie.

Sometime later, the door to their shared room burst open. “Hey, burrito, get your lazy ass out of bed! I said, _‘be ready at two o’clock’_ and not _‘get up at two’_. It’s already 1:53!” A stressed Kyungsoo sprinted into their shared room, “Or do you want to feel the wrath from this morning again, aka cold feet?” Kyungsoo already moved, jumping on one foot towards the bed, trying to get rid of his sock. With his bare foot already on the mattress, he took a stance. Hands on his hips, he scowled down on Chanyeol.

Chanyeol just dumbly smirked into his general direction and threw the blanket off himself. He cracked an eye open, but the cherry on top of it was him making grabbing motions like a little child towards Kyungsoo.

“Park Chanyeol!”  
“Soo~” cutely whined addressed male, still making grabbing motions, “Soo~.”  
Cringing, Kyungsoo released a breath of irritation he didn’t realise he was holding. Taking off his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose and ruffled his hair.

“Babe, do me that favour, you didn’t give me a present for my birthday.”  
The smaller one shook his head, put his glasses on top of the nightstand and bent down, placing both hands on either side of Chanyeol’s head. He whispered into his ear, his breath fanning over the sensitive shell of the giant’s ears, “What is it that you want from me?”  
Instead of being intimidated by his best friend’s dangerous implication, Chanyeol’s arms wrapped themselves around Kyungsoo’s upper body and pulled the bewildered male down. Chanyeol even tangled their limbs together and manhandled him on his back.

“Wow, that escalated quickly”, Kyungsoo let out in a momentary shock.  
Chanyeol, on the other side, sniffed Kyungsoo’s crown before rolling of him. He shoved him to the other side of the bed, but not without resorting to a small tickle attack without any noteworthy results. Rolling himself into a sitting position, he threw his feet over the edge of the bed onto the ground and stood up.

He rounded the bed and helped Kyungsoo up, “You smell like a nasty old ashtray which hasn't been cleaned in ages.”  
“That’s because I am, except for the cleaning part.”

“I don’t like how that ended. Let’s just pretend that never happened. I’m sorry.”  
“That’s not how life works, idiot.”  
“It does now. I have to take credit for that.”  
“Blame, not credit, you mean ‘take blame’.”  
“Urgh”, Chanyeol, defeated, rested his face in his hands.  
“Well, I’d like to kill you right now. How did you even manage that? On a second thought- nah, I don’t want to know”, Kyungsoo spit out. He was still fuming with rage, but at the same time, he had a hard time to not laugh.  
The whole story was just too trivial to be true, but Chanyeol somehow made his surprise work in the wrong way.

While bickering, they arrived back at their pension they were staying at. The owner, an old but robust woman in her sixties, was standing on the canopied patio. The two boys observed relatively fast that the woman looked like she could break one's neck with a snap of her fingers, but she was the loveliest human being they have met during their trip.

Squinting at the males, she huffed out a white cloud, the warmth of her breath colliding with the cold air.  
“Ma’am”, Chanyeol greeted her, but not a second later he had the end of a walking cane pointed between his eyes.  
“Young man, I told you to call me Granny, nothing more, nothing less”, she scolded him, her missing front teeth making their entrance.

Kyungsoo sat himself down on the bench and shook his cigarette pack to determine how many cigarettes were left, taking one out in the process. However, Chanyeol went inside with the landlady, still deeply conversing.

Chanyeol’s birthday surprise didn’t go as planned, but Kyungsoo was content nevertheless, that was a memorable memory anyway. Wrapped up in the blanket that lay on the bench, he made himself comfortable and lit his cigarette.

The sky clouded over dramatically when the duo made their way back to the patio and now snowflakes descended from the heavens, coating everything with a soft sheer white cover. The thermometer was already scratching at the freezing point with long sharp fingernails.

The doorbell chimed and the old woman came back, Chanyeol in tow. Kyungsoo flicked some of the ashes into the ashtray and took another drag of the cigarette, inhaling for a good measure of three seconds, before exhaling through his nose. His best friend appeared in his line of vision holding three mugs with steam ascending from them. Offering one mug to the sitting male, he sat himself down on a chair. The woman took the last mug from Chanyeol’s hold and sat herself down next to Kyungsoo on the bench.

She patted his thigh in a comforting manner, “Your friend here told me what mishap happened. I’m sorry you have such a dumb friend.” She smiled at him and he offered a heart shaped smile himself.  
“Thank you, sometimes I wonder why I’m friends with him in the first place. Like, why am I even coping with him for all those years?” he questioned dryly.

“Hey, could you two stop talking about me like I’m not here and also, stop ganging up against me all the time. You two do that since we arrived here in the morning!”, Chanyeol pouted.  
“It’s your fault for running straight into the door and afterwards into the bell chime.” Chanyeol laughed, he raised his mug to his lips. Blowing on the hot liquid, he took a sip and sighed in content when the warmth coated his throat.

Raising the mug in the same, manner he asked, “I know the smell, but i can’t put my finger on it.”  
“It’s mulled wine with a generous amount of rum in it”, the landlady spoke beside him, “You can’t drive anyway tomorrow.”  
“Huh?”, the boys asked in unison, stopping mid motion and staring at the woman with big eyes.  
“Because of the snowfall”, she pointed towards the sky, “They stopped the ferry service an hour ago until the day after tomorrow, they called while you were outside.”  
“But we just paid for one night”, Chanyeol mentioned in shock.  
“No worries, I can’t let two handsome men as you down, help me the next two days with the house chores and I’ll let you stay for free. Deal?”

Chanyeol fumbled with his phone, “We should call our parents, our trip just prolonged itself by two days. Can we use your washing machine and tumble dryer?”

**FIN**.


End file.
